Bike paths coming

At the Township Council's May 15 meeting, Recreation Director
David Stierli and Greg Somjen, who chairs the township's recreation
advisory board, presented the township with the latest round of
site plans for the proposed teen center. Once built, the facility
will be housed in the former municipal building, located at 72
Eyland Ave., Succasunna, near the new senior citizen
center.

According to Somjen, Kinsey and Associates, the engineer for the
project, has prepared plans designed to meet the primary objective
that the advisory board felt was important: the design of a generic
looking teen center that can be converted for another use, should
the need arise.

"The idea was to build something that can be easily modified
into something else and the reason for that is that other towns
that have teen centers have told u s that they are not really
successful," Somjen told the council.

"The focus of a teen center is to attract seventh and eighth
graders, but our fear was that a lot of money would be lost if we
design a teen center and then no body uses it. So, our thought was
to make it generic so it can be easily adapted for another use," he
said.

Large Gym

Stierli said the facility will be attractive to teens, however,
because there is also a large gymnasium in the building. "Most
towns do not have a gym this size," he said. He also said that the
facility can be used for a variety of other purposes, such as
school parties, birthday parties and organizational meetings. "It's
going to be an area that can be used by a lot of people," he
said.

Deputy Mayor Jim Rilee said he likes the plans, and added that
he does think the teen center stands a good chance of being
successful. "If it's geared correctly toward them, I think sixth,
seventh, eighth and ninth graders will use a teen center. I think
it has a good chance of being successful," he said.

Councilman Fred Hall, who serves as the council's liaison to the
advisory board, said a multi-use facility like this is exactly what
the board had in mind. "Th e last thing this group wants to do is
to create something that would not be used. There is a big gym
there, and I agree that that is a big draw for kids," he
said.

Through the efforts of Sen. Anthony Bucco, R-Morris, the
township was able to se cure a $60,000 state grant last year to
complete teen center renovations. Stierli and Somjen said they plan
to put the project out to bid soon, and added that t he design
engineer has told them that the project should be able to be built
for that $60,000.

Furnishings, and other commodities, Stierli said, will likely
cost more. "We have not have any elaborate discussions at this
point about cabinetry and stuff like that," Somjen said.

Mayor Sandy Urgo asked Stierli and Somjen to inform the council
if bid specifications are drawn up that exceed the projected
$60,000. "We don't want any surprises after we start construction,"
she said.

Paths Planned

Meanwhile, the township is also on the verge of using another
state grant, this one in the amount of $300,000 from the state
Department of Transportation, to construct an extensive bicycle
path around the Horseshoe Lake facility.

According to Stierli, however, original plans to extend the path
across the street to the Eisenhower Middle School, have been
scrapped.

In fact, the paths will no longer run near the front of
Horseshoe Lake at all, but will mainly circle the rear of the
property. At the council's request, the path will also not
interfere with the serene atmosphere near Memory Lane.

Hall said that in order to extend the path to the Eisenhower
School, extensive work would be needed. "We would have to move
fences and cut through pavement to reach the school. Maybe we'll
get more grant money for that in the future, but w e should move
forward with getting the rest of the path built now," he
said.

"This $300,000 grant will get the path around most of Horseshoe
Lake, but the paths will be only at the rear of the property. There
will not be a closing loop around the lake, at this point, unless
we get more grant money," Somjen said.

The originally proposed path, which would have run parallel to
Eyland Avenue, Somjen said, has been eliminated from the plans. "It
will still run around the rear of the property, near the band shell
and around near Imagination Station," h e said.

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In recent weeks, Long Hill Township and Watchung Borough passed ordinances allowing their police departments to be able to apply for surplus equipment from the Department of Defense. Long Hill recently procured a Humvee to use in times of flooding, which Watchung states as the reason they are getting into the program. However, in cities around the country, police forces have used the program to obtain military gear, such as weapons and armor.
For more background, go to the link below
http://www.newjerseyhills.com/echoes-sentinel/news/watchung-police-department-hopes-to-receive-equipment-from-department-of/article_12ad002a-92b3-5449-a2cc-4b2cf0ce4339.html